The Craig County football team is undefeated at the halfway point of the regular season for the first time in school history. The Rockets are 5-0 after shutting out Stonewall Jackson on Mitchell Field last Friday, 54-0, and are ranked first in the Region 1C rankings.
This was the third shutout of the season for the Rockets, who have now outscored five opponents by a combined 249-36. Last week the Rockets scored 20 points in the first quarter and 20 in the second for a 40-0 halftime lead, setting the clock running continuously. Craig then added two more touchdowns after intermissions to complete the rout of the visiting Generals.
Craig played without Noah Paxton and Doug Hutchison, who were nursing some sore knees.
“Noah could have gone but we held him out,” said coach Jim Fisher. “We’ll see how they both progress this week.”
Filling in for Noah at tailback was senior wingback Jerry Smith and he had a big night with 210 yards rushing and two touchdowns on a dozen carries. Senior fullback Carter Calfee ran 12 times for 119 yards and three scores and filling in for Jerry at wing was senior Isaiah Nichols who had 81 yards on four carries. Sophomore Bentley Smith spent some time at tailback with five carries for 35 yards and two touchdowns. As a team, the Rockets ran 438 yards on 35 rushing attempts.
The Craig defense held Stonewall Jackson to minus 68 yards of total offense on the night. Tristan Dooley led the defense with 10 tackles, including three tackles for loss, and an interception. Calfee had five and a half tackles and a tackle for loss and junior defensive tackle Carter Price had seven tackles with two tackles for losses. Junior defensive end Peyton Fields had five tackles with three tackles for losses.
Paxton was replaced on defense by sophomore Dreydin Smith and he had three tackles with two for losses. Junior linebacker Marcus Donithan had three and a half tackles and safety Caleb Cregger had a pick six.
“We’re breaking our season down into segments,” said Fisher. “The first five games is season one, the second five games is season two, and the playoffs, hopefully, are season three.
“Season one is over. It was a lot of fun but we need to not look back at it or look ahead to season three. We need to focus on our district opponents and a very good Meadow Bridge team. I see us as 0-0 at the moment. The next season starts this Friday against Eastern Montgomery.”
The Rockets will host East Mont for Homecoming Friday. The Mustangs are coming off a 50-12 win over Bland County in Elliston last week, their first win of the season after five losses.
“It’s Homecoming and we are hoping for a big crowd,” said Fisher. “East Mont is going to come in Friday angry and with something to prove. We got them pretty good last year(58-0) and I am certain that they want to return the favor. I am sure they are tired of seeing us on the news or in the paper, they are going to be fired up to play us Friday. Don’t let their record fool you. I have watched the film, they have some guys that can play and the Mustangs always play hard against us. We are also ranked first in Region C in power points, so they would love to come in here and knock us down a notch. We need to rise up and play inspired football.”
Fisher also mentioned how many fans have been complimentary of the Craig County gridiron and would like to recognize some of the folks who have contributed to the beautiful playing field.
“Everyone has been commenting on how great the field has looked this season,” said Fisher. “Shane Gills, Devin Huffman and Junior Jones do a fantastic job with the game field and grounds. Also, we have to thank Mike Carper of Gopher Market and IGA Express, Stacey Fisher of Market Street Pharmacy and some anonymous donors that allowed us to purchase the paint robot. The paint robot has been a game changer for us. It does such a quality job of painting. Again, special thanks to Mike Carper and Gopher Market/IGA Express and to Stacey at Market Street Pharmacy. They do so much for our schools and community.”
